Airline scam or I hate Big Airline

[cdcox]

Background: My folks have owned timeshares in Cancun for several years now. This year they invited my family to stay with them. I booked the airline tickets last week for me, my wife and daughter. I noticed at the time of booking that the flights were surprisingly empty.

After booking the flights, I learned that there was room for one more person at the resort. My daughter wanted to bring her boyfriend, and I agreed. (I'll be bunking with him). My folks were okay with the idea. So I went to book the tickets.

The price of the fight had gone through the roof (+ $500 compared to when we booked our flight just a few days before). I went to the seating chart and noticed that the second leg of my outbound flight had gotten suspiciously smaller. Not only that it had lost some of its wings! Being the tight wad that I am, this immediately sent me into a rage. Like most people who are raging, I began a methodical search for the truth.

This bizarre leg of the flight went from Chicago to Cancun. So I started searching for seat availability on that leg of the flight. I finally found a flight from Albany to Cancun that had the same last leg of the flight as mine. They showed the whole plane and lots of available seats.

Upon closer examination I notice that they only are offering 1st class fare for the leg of the flight in question when coming from my city, while they are offering coach if you are coming form Albany. This is a dirty underhanded trick. However, they went WAY OVER THE LINE, when they did not show the many rows of seats beyond 1st class, and SHOWED ROWS OF SEATS IN FRONT OF THE SEATS THEY WERE SELLING THAT DON'T EXIST. I believe this was a cleverly arranged subterfuge deliberately designed to trick me into believing that a) seats were scarce, and b) I was not buying a first class ticket.

Screen captures attached, all from the same day of flight, one from my city, one from Albany. See next post.

[Smed1065]

Looks the same to me.........

LOL

[007]

Hell the flight I purchased to Orlando last October for June was $130 per person. The same flight today is $628 per person.

[cdcox]

Chicago to Cancun leg, my city of dearture:

[Smed1065]

Small plane IMO.

Is it a prop?

12 seat plane will be expensive, in my experience.

[cdcox]

Same flight, same day, with the first leg departing from Albany:

[cdcox]

From my city of departure, they have now raised the price of a ticket an addition $200 since I started looking into this earlier this evening.

[cdcox]

Small plane IMO.

Is it a prop?

12 seat plane will be expensive, in my experience.

It's not a 12 seat plane. It is a freaking Airbus A319. They are 1) showing seats that do not exist (in gray) and are NOT SHOWING seats that do exist.

[007]

HOLY CRAP. That is completely messed up. They both even say "airbus". WOW

[Bugeater]

What the hell? That first pic makes no sense at all. And how do you know the seats in gray don't exist? They're in both of the pics.

[cdcox]

What the hell? That first pic makes no sense at all. And how do you know the seats in gray don't exist? They're in both of the pics.

Look again. The seats in green in the first pic include rows 1, 2, 3. They are the same as the seats in gray in the second pic.

In the first pic, the seats in gray would have negative numbers. Have you ever been on a plane where the seats had negative numbers?

This is pure deception.

[Bugeater]

Look again. The seats in green in the first pic include rows 1, 2, 3. They are the same as the seats in gray in the second pic.

In the first pic, the seats in gray would have negative numbers. Have you ever been on a plane where the seats had negative numbers?

This is pure deception.

OK, I gotcha, I didn't catch that because those seats aren't numbered in either pic. Yeah, something funny is going on with that, did you call the airline and ask them WTF is going on here?

[cdcox]

OK, I gotcha, I didn't catch that because those seats aren't numbered in either pic. Yeah, something funny is going on with that, did you call the airline and ask them WTF is going on here?

Tomorrow. And Travelocity.

[Smed1065]

It's not a 12 seat plane. It is a freaking Airbus A319. They are 1) showing seats that do not exist (in gray) and are NOT SHOWING seats that do exist.

I was messing with you....

[Mosbonian]

If I may suggest.....could the pictures be top tier and bottom tier of the plane? Considering it is an Airbus plane, and how many people normally fly to Cancun from Chicago, it might be a double-decker.

mmaddog
*******

[Bugeater]

If I may suggest.....could the pictures be top tier and bottom tier of the plane? Considering it is an Airbus plane, and how many people normally fly to Cancun from Chicago, it might be a double-decker.

mmaddog
*******
Negatory.

http://www.zap16.com/images/F-WWDB.jpg

[Mosbonian]

Negatory.

http://www.zap16.com/images/F-WWDB.jpg

There are 2 different types of A319's.

mmaddog
*******

[Bugeater]

There are 2 different types of A319's.

mmaddog
*******
Sure, there's single class and a two class cabin layouts, but both are one level.

http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a320/a319/cabin_layout.html

I'm no expert by any means, but I can't find any evidence there's a double decker version of this particular aircraft.

[Mile High Mania]

Mexicana Airlines... never flown on 'em, don't know much about 'em.

Airlines do play games with seats/pricing, but I know nothing about his airline.

Just avoid this one...
http://www.tvjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/oceanic.jpg

[007]

Mexicana Airlines... never flown on 'em, don't know much about 'em.

Airlines do play games with seats/pricing, but I know nothing about his airline.

Just avoid this one...
http://www.tvjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/oceanic.jpg

Especially flight 815

[Chief Chief]

So, how are you going to start with the boyfriend:

Dropping your soap while he's in the shower?

Spooning him with your big dipper?

"Innocently" placing your hand between his two big pillows?

[patteeu]

Mexicana Airlines... never flown on 'em, don't know much about 'em.

Airlines do play games with seats/pricing, but I know nothing about his airline.

Just avoid this one...
http://www.tvjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/oceanic.jpg

I flew them once on the hop from Cancun to Cozemel. The first memory in my mind is how it was an amazing contrast flying on an airline that permitted smoking after being so used to smoke-free flying in the US.

[cdcox]

This just makes me madder and madder.

There are plenty of seats on that plane. I could get one for a "reasonable" price coming from any other city served by that route.

I could get a decent price from my city to Cancun going through Chicago. Just not on that flight.

It's like they are trying to screw me personally.

[Sully]

So, how are you going to start with the boyfriend:

Dropping your soap while he's in the shower?

Spooning him with your big dipper?

"Innocently" placing your hand between his two big pillows?

That reminds me of Robert Schimmel's act:

So because of my act my daughter thinks she can talk to me about anything. She's been dating the same guy since high school and they go to the same college, and she calls me up one night and says “Dad, I wanted to talk to you about Steve.” And all I can think is if she tells me she took it up the ass I'm gonna drop dead on the phone. I mean what do you say to that “Daddy, I don't like it in the butt.” Yeah, you and your mom both. So she says “Dad, you know Steve and I have been together for a while, and he was wondering what it would be like to go all the way.” So I said "Maybe I'll **** him then he won't have to wonder anymore." See Steve that's what it's like to go all the way... would you stop crying?

[tooge]

Small plane IMO.

Is it a prop?

12 seat plane will be expensive, in my experience.

Your fault. You should have known. Rocket fuel is extremely expensive.

[Fish]

Why would it say Oceanic 815 on the side of the plane?

[cdcox]

UPDATE: Back when I first posted this the price was swinging $200 up or down on an hour by hour basis. I called Travelocity and got zero satisfaction. The price went up $200 while I was on the phone with them. After explaining my situation and complaint 10 different ways, he finally said that 1) the seating charts come from the airlines and they have no control of them and 2) that travelocity manipulates the price according to situation to maximize profit. I had to get off the phone before I blew a gasket and said something I was going to regret.

I waited about 5 days and checked the price again. The flight wasn't even offered, at any price, even though I knew there were still seats available on it. I'd given up. I checked today only because my wife said she was going to call the airline. BINGO. The flight magically appeared again at a price I was willing to pay (about $300 more than the tickets I'd booked for my family).

The thing is, they could have saved everyone a ton of stress by just offering that price back back 10 days ago. Piss me off. My daughter is estatic so I'm declaring victory and moving on.

[Skip Towne]

Boyfriend rides with the baggage.